AJC > Sports > Highschools > Blog > Archives > 2006 > November > 29 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USPros and cons of neutrality
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tennessee does it. So does Texas. It’s good enough for the semifinals in Georgia, but not the finals.
So why aren’t the high school state championship football games played at neutral sites here in Georgia? Take Ten has mixed feelings about the whole thing, so here is our take on the pros and the cons of having the state title games played on neutral fields.
Pros
— 1. No team should have a homefield advantage in the championship: Washington County has won three state titles, but none of them have ever been played in the “House of Pain.” Sure the Golden Hawks were able to overcome that disadvantage, but playing a state championship game at one school’s field is like having Florida and Ohio State play for the national championship in the Swamp.
— 2. Travel: If you think a five hour ride on a cheese wagon from Camden County or Thomas County Central up to metro Atlanta isn’t taxing, try it sometime.
— 3. Money: Playing at neutral sites could allow a lot more fans to make the game. If say, Tift County and Norcross were to play for the state title and the game was to be played in Macon, not only would you get Tift County and Norcross fans, but fans from across the state would have a chance to see the game in a centrally-located place.
— 4. Plenty of places to have it: There are several ways to have the title games played at neutral sites. You can rotate the championship games through different venues of the state or you can set one central site to be host. Imagine having the AAAAA title game in the Dome, AAAA at Sanford Stadium, AAA at Georgia Tech, AA at Paulsen Stadium in Statesboro and A at the Shamrock Bowl in Dublin or Cantrell Stadium at McEachern.
— 5. Football and baseball are the only sports that still do it like this: Only in those two sports is there such a thing as a homefield advantage in the finals. Basketball is played on a neutral court. Tennis plays at a centralized facility. Wrestling is held at neutral sites. Golf is played on courses throughout the state. If it works for other sports, it can work for football and baseball as well.
Cons
— 1. You take away what makes football special in Georgia: Despite the protests of metro fans, small-town Georgia is what makes high school football so great here. If a Gwinnett team makes and hosts a state championship game, only a handful of Gwinnett fans from outside that school will make the game. If Johnson County travels to Lincolnton for a state title game, there might be a handful of people left in all of Johnson County, and the population in Lincolnton will triple for one special night.
— 2. South Georgia knows that “neutral site” means the Georgia Dome, and “that ain’t happenin’.”: It’s bad enough in some people’s eyes that the semifinals are played at the Dome. If you put the state finals there, south Georgia automatically sees that as catering to the Parkviews and Brookwoods of the world. And, really, how much atmosphere is there in a half-empty Georgia Dome?
— 3. Money: The Georgia High School Association gets its cut of the gate proceeds, but the two schools playing for the title get a ton of money out of this. The community makes money on sales tax revenue as restaurants and hotels fill up. Neutral sites would cut into that money by having to pay for using the facility.
— 4. Tradition: Just like the antiquated bowl system of college football, playing state title games at home locations is part of the tradition.
— 5. Just cause: Playing at a neutral site makes about as much sense as having state championship games end in a tie. Oops. Told you we had mixed feelings about this.
Permalink | Comments (14) | Post your comment | Categories: Take Ten
Comments
By JacketFan
November 29, 2006 07:31 PM | Link to this
I agree with all of the above. Last year we (Calhoun) hosted the AA championship game and it was great. If it had been the other way around (us travelling to Charleton)I don’t think I would have liked it very much.
By Georgia Needs to Wise Up
November 29, 2006 07:53 PM | Link to this
By bhendry
November 30, 2006 04:15 AM | Link to this
The atmosphere in the “half-empty dome” can still be wonderful, like the very noisy SW Dekalb vs Valdosta in 1994. I suspect that most players find it thrilling to play on the same surface as the NFL (and please post your opinion here if you have done so). I believe that I’ve seen crowds over 25,000 at the Dome with much of the lower half filled, and that would get larger if successive title games were hosted there or another large stadium, like AAAA then AAAAA on a Saturday afternoon/evening. I favor centralized, rotating sites to allow for regional hosting and higher quality facilities for the fans and athletes, although the Dome is best because it insures good “weather” and safer playing conditions. Also, this would remove financial mandates for schools to keep spending a lot of money to expand stadiums to qualify to host a playoff game per GHSA rules. I doubt that many schools recoup that investment unless they make the playoffs many times. It would also remove some of the rancor created when a visiting team takes away the game from a potential host by pointing out that a stadium is not up to GHSA standards, which has happened for years and already several times in 2006. Lastly, and this is probably a minor, perhaps silly point, neutral sites help remove some suspicion that the host team can eavesdrop or cheat in some way.
By Mark Richard
November 30, 2006 07:11 AM | Link to this
Since you asked…
My opinion is that home field is okay for the first two rounds, but neutral sites would be better from that point onward.
I like the concept of playing the State Finals in places like Stanford Stadium, Grant Field, and the GA Dome, so why not extend that to the quarterfinals and semis? Most of the kids playing will not have the opportunity to play in a venue like that, so it would be a great experience. As the playoffs progress, the sites get bigger and better. UWG, GA Southern, Valdosta, etc.
This is the best of both worlds - the home fans get the opportunity to see their team at home in the playoffs and the kids get the opportunity to play in some first-class facilities.
For the record, there are over 350 high schools playing football in GA, not 160.
By Mark Richard
November 30, 2006 07:32 AM | Link to this
While we’re on the subject, can someone explain to me the GHSA playoff logic in the first place?
4 teams per region make the playoffs. OK, I get that, but by what reasoning do we have some regions with only 4 teams and some with 10, 12, or 14???
One team had 3 wins and made the playoffs, another had 7 and didn’t.
And I know the idea is to try and get the bigger schools into the semis and finals to draw bigger crowds, but GA is a big place (see comment regarding 5-hour bus ride). Can’t the state be sectioned off by geographic region? There’s no way a team should have to drive 4 or 5 hours to a first- or second-round game.
How about setting it up so that the regions closest to each other play the first 2 rounds (home field applies), then using a regionally-designated neutral site for the quarter- and semi-finals, and the above mentioned “big sites” for the championships?
In other words, section the state geographically, NW, NE, SW, and SE. Through the quarterfinals, teams play within that geographic region.
What that gives you is a NW, NE, SW, and SE champion. Then play NW v NE for a North GA champ and SW v SE for a South GA champ.
Alternately, play the semis on a rotating basis: 1. NW v NE, SW v SE 2. NW v SW, NE v SE 3. NW v SE, NE v SW
We’re talking about kids, here. The main thing is that they have some fun. It’s up to us as parents to keep it in perspective. It’s up to GHSA to keep that in mind, too. It’s just a huge burden (financially as well as physically) to get around this state for the playoffs the way they’ve arranged it.
By Average Joe
November 30, 2006 07:39 AM | Link to this
I will start off by saying, “Who cares how Texas does it?” If it works for them great. I disagree with the current format but can live with it. I still wish we had the old playoff format where you won your region, then quarter of the state, north or south championship and then the winner from the north and south met. So why keep taking away traditions. Once the schools concede on the neutral site issue for the championship the state powers to be will get it the dome which is where they want it. Playing football in a dome is dumb, especially in Georgia. Small-town Georgia is what makes high school football so great here.
By For Mark
November 30, 2006 10:00 AM | Link to this
Mark, Read the posting more closely. Talking playoff teams here, not total teams. Do the math. 8 regions x 4 teams x 5 classifications = 160 teams in the playoffs.
By Me
November 30, 2006 02:02 PM | Link to this
GHSA needs to come up with consistent rules for both the seeding for regions and sub-regions and not leave it up to the individual regions.The first two rounds should be played at the higher seeds field and then at neutral sites for the quarters-semis-finals that is chosen and agreed to by all the regions in all classifications prior to the season starting.Communities in and around Atlanta have as much pride and tradition in their teams as the small towns in south ga.
By scott
November 30, 2006 03:51 PM | Link to this
high school football belongs in the towns and cities in which the kids have played all season. Generations of towns people and former players connect our towns to the h.s. game in a manner that is not possible for the college and pro game. Taking the games to neutral sites is robbery. The apmosphere, which includes going to the game 4 hours early to get a seat is what makes high school football superior to the college and pro game.
By To Me
November 30, 2006 03:53 PM | Link to this
Just to add clarification to your thoughts,Region and Sub-Regions should use #1Region/sub-region record #2 if tied,overall record #3if tied, head-to-head if played #4 if didn’t play, #1 #2 if tied, points against, or points for which ever GHSA choses before the season starts.I agree with rounds 1 and 2 at the higher seed with consistent seeding rules and neutral sites selected prior to season for all classifications for quarter/semis/finals
By Chad
November 30, 2006 05:01 PM | Link to this
I think the way the games are determined now is based on seeding. My team has played three weeks in a row at home due to being a #1 seed. This week we matched up to another #1 seed and the two coaches met and flipped a coin to decide home field. Now I can’t make it to that game due to a four hour drive.
I agree that everything from the quarter finals on should be played at neutral sites.
The dome play is silly. I can’t believe a kid would rather play in the dome that at home or in a high school stadium packed to capacity.
Like this week with my team, the four hour dirve, the two teams should have gotten together and instead of flipping a coin, decided on a neutral site approx. 2 hours from both schools.
Not only is there home field advantage, our kids have to ride 4 hours on the big cheese. If you don;t think that is a disadvantage, then its been way too long since you rode the cheese!!! Get real and lets really make this a playoff.
By J
November 30, 2006 07:01 PM | Link to this
I think the playoff system should be left alone. No matter where the game is played the better team that night will win no matter the distance. Playing the semi-finals in the dome or somewhere like uga, gt isn’t as bad as some people think. I myself have played in dome 5 times(korky kell 2, semi’s 3) in 4 yrs as a player in the late 90’s. Everytime we played there we were not any less excited than we were the first time we played there. And having to travel 3-4 hrs is just part of playoffs. You earn homefield by working hard in the regular season by winning your region or getting a 2 seed. If the championship venue is determined by coin toss because of two teams with a same seed than so be it. In our championship game we traveled all the way to Blakely from Carrollton and still won the game despite riding a long way.
By HEY MARK RICHARD
November 30, 2006 08:51 PM | Link to this
160 was a reference to the number of teams that make the playoffs and it is dead on. no one said anything about he total number of football playing schools in georgia. and the playoff format does have those regions that are close together playing each other in the first two rounds. when you’re down to eigth teams there are just going to be some teams that have to travel. you need to know a little more about the playoffs in the state of georgia before you start foaming at the mouth.
By Howard
December 1, 2006 10:30 PM | Link to this
I liked the idea about having the AAAAA play in the Dome, AAAA play at UGA…how about AAA at Tech and those switch each year? AA at Ga. Southern and A in Dublin or maybe in Lowdnes’ stadium or Valdosta’s field would be great. Down here in Florida they play the title games in all eight classes (yes…they have 1-A, 1-B, 2-A, 2-B, AAA, AAAA, AAAAA, and AAAAAA!!!) either at FSU’s stadium over three days or at Florida Field over three days…and it works well.